The Russian Diver

Since the fall of the Berlin wall in 1989 and the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 we capitalists have been able to purchase surplus Soviet government and surplus military items at bargain basement prices. I remember seeing for sale such items as used East German uniforms, Russian uniforms, communist bloc rifles, pistols, binoculars, night vision goggles, flags, ammunition, etc. And thanks to the latest Soviet technology you could get an i.u.d. the size of a tractor, pencils that run on car batteries, diesel hair dryers and a diver watch that is so big that no normal human would ever be able to wear it in public.

I speak of the Russian Diver Watch (Type 3) made by the good people at the Zlatoust Watch Factory.
This is one heavy canteen watch weighing in at 260 grams. The case is approx. 75mm with the crown and about 60mm without. Case thickness is about 23mm. Lug to lug distance is 75mm and lug width is 24.5mm. The case material is almost certainly nickel or chrome plated brass. And the claimed water resistance of 700 meters is doubtful. I suppose that at one time the watch was all steel and the depth rating was as claimed but I suspect that was back in the 70s. To tell you the truth, I'm actually a little skeptical about getting it wet but since I'll never actually wear it that won't be a problem. I admittedly don't know anything about the movement but it supposedly utilizes 15 jewels.
The watch comes in a small blue box with instructions, a screwdriver for strap pin removal and an additional gasket to be used when the protective grill is not installed. I don't speak or read Russian so the instructions are superfluous exept for the stamp that says in English "NO RADIATION". Why is that the only thing in English? Why make a claim of no radiation? Do watches usually have radiation? Does my Timex have radiation? Note to self: Keep Russian Diver watch away from front of pants just in case.

Yay, no radiation!

?

I am sooooo cool.

A thick piece of glass at 4mm.

This is the only watch I own that doesn't have a second hand.

One last look at the Russian Diver because my arm hurts.

Sadly, this watch will only exist as a conversation piece. It's really neat and I wish I could wear it but that's not going to happen in this lifetime.

"Remember, is making for nice gift at glorious people's party worker union function"

Благодарю вас и прощальное

Goldball and Thunderfinger

A look that never quite caught on. A shame, really.

Is there any excuse for this? I mean, "Q" has outfitted 007 with watches that have geiger counters, ticker tape machines, mini buzz saws, lasers, explosive compartments, etc. not to mention gadgets of every sort that were "state of the art" at the time. So how did this happen? How did the pride of MI6, the most successful spy ever wind up with this watch strap on a Rolex Submariner?

The strap isn't too small, the watch is too big.

Maybe nobody thought it was important or thought it mattered. Maybe there was only enough money in the budget for mini submarines and frisbee hats. Or maybe all the cool kids were wearing their watches that way, not like those uptight establishment squares who wear the correct sized straps with their watches. After all, it was the mid 60s, man.

Mr. Underwater Watch

Raise your hand with the SCUBA watch on it if you remember a television show named "Get A Life". It was cancelled, I think, a little prematurely by the Fox network about twenty years ago after only two seasons. One of the episodes titled "The Counterfeit Watch Story" was one of my favorites.

In this episode Chris Peterson, played by Chris Elliott, is inspired by the television show, "Sea Hunt". This inspiration leads him to seek a "Mr. Underwater Watch", the fictional SCUBA watch worn by one of the "Sea Hunt" characters. At the local watch store he's told by the salesman that the Mr. Underwater Watch is a piece of junk and he won't sell it to him. What he will sell to him is the Chronosync. But not just a Chronosync, the Chronosync 2000. Elliot is told that it's the Cadillac of watches. When the watch stops dead in the store the salesman informs Elliott that it's a tap watch which means that it stops itself to keep from overheating and must be tapped to be re-started. Of course he buys the watch for $100 and even pays 18% sales tax.

After some fanfare Chris Elliott finally takes a shower with his new state-of-the-art, water resistant to 1000 ft. diver's watch. After two seconds in the shower he screams like a little girl and comes running out of the bathroom holding his arm out with the watch still on his wrist. The watch had practically dissolved, the colors ran and the bezel fell off. This was one of the funniest things I've ever seen.
Not so hilarious was when I bought a new O & W Ranger from Gnomon Watches two years ago. After waiting nearly six weeks for the watch to arrive from Hong Kong, I, like Chris Elliott's character, couldn't wait to get the watch wet and prove it's superior water resistant qualities. And just like Chris Elliott's watch, it failed immediately. No, it didn't melt but the crystal did fog up. It turned out that the case back had never been tightened fully at the factory. I had to open it and allow it to dry for 24 hours before I could replace the case back and tighten the hell out of it. Now it was water resistant and has remained so for two years. I learned two things from this experience. The first is to expect a long wait from Gnomon Watches. The second is to always check the case back that it's been properly tightened. Fortunately my O & W Ranger is no worse for wear but it could have been much worse. Remember, all warranties exclude any damage as may be caused by water entering the case.

Aside from these not so small complaints the Ollech & Wajs Ranger is one of my favorite watches. I would recommend it for anyone who wanted a tough, military styled automatic watch. So far it has put up with showers, swimming, diving and hunting in near zero degree conditions. In fact, I bagged my first buck while wearing the Ranger. And since buying it, it's ETA 2824-2 automatic movement has maintained an accuracy of +5 secs/day. I can live with that.

Specifications:

Movement: Swiss Automatic, ETA 2824-2, 25 jewels.
Case Material: Polished stainless steel.
Case Size: 42mm without crown.
Lug-to-Lug Size: 47mm.
Bracelet: Oyster, Stainless Steel, 20mm wide, brushed with polished center link.
Bezel: Uni-directional.
Crystal: Mineral crystal.
Luminance: SuperLuminova.
Water Resistance: 200 meters.

The watch came with a stainless steel bracelet and a black Nato band. The Nato was kind of cheap so I replaced it with an olive drab Maratac band of much better quality. To me this watch looks a lot like the British MoD issued SBS watch.



It's almost too good to be a "beater" watch but it's a tough watch and looks good with a little wear and tear on it.


















The Ranger with the original stainless steel bracelet as shown on the right. The watch comes from the factory with the black face as shown or with either an orange or yellow face.

All in all, the O & W Ranger is nothing like the Chronosync or even the Chronosync 2000. I give it two thumbs up. I consider it to be on a par with the Seiko SKX007. I have to give Gnomon watches one thumb up. Even though there was a six week wait they replied immediately to all of my e-mails. I probably became a bit of a pest after awhile but Anders, the Gnomon Watches rep., didn't lose patience with me. Thanks.

Fontain Mystery Watch

This past Summer my sister handed me a shoebox of old knick-knacks that had belonged to my father. He had passed away about twenty years ago and I guess, at the time, I wasn't interested in the items that were inside of the box. Now, some twenty years later, I found myself going through the box again. This time I would take the Seiko Quartz (I dated it to 1985) and a watch with the name Fontain on it.


My problem is that I don't know anything about the watch or the company. I found only two images on the internet of Fontain watches. One was dated from the 1950s and the other from the 1930s. This Fontain looks older.






The case hinges open and the movement can be removed easily. The inside of the case Indicates "14K" and has a proof mark that looks like a squirrel. That strap is probably from the 1980s.





The squirrel proof mark is just above the "14K" stamp. The hand wind movement is engraved with WELSAMWATCH, SWISS (in two places), FOUR 4 ADJTS and FIFTEEN 15 JEWELS.






There is a serial number stamped 195831 on the inside of the case back. There are also several other numbers that are scratched into the inside of the case possibly by whoever serviced the watch. I don't know if it's important but the domed crystal is acrylic or some other clear plastic.




The watch has been running for over two hours and, so far, it's dead on. Of course two hours isn't enough time to truly test the accuracy of a watch but if there was a real deviation I would have noticed it by now.

I invite you to look at the images in this post and let me know if you have any info regarding the history, date of manufacture or value of this timepiece. Thanks.